The initial 1099 filing deadline passed on February 2nd, 2015. This may have many businesses scrambling. What should businesses do if they are in this predicament and how can they avoid facing penalties. We address this concern and other 1099 tax questions below.

First, take a deep breath, you can still issue the 1099 and possibly avoid a filing penalty if you can show reasonable cause. This would mean that your business was unable to send the 1099 form on time because there was an unforeseen event such as an office fire that made it impossible to do so.

Separately, while this is after the fact for the 2014 tax year, the business can file Form 8809 to request an additional 30 days to file the 1099 or other information return. This form must be filed on or before the earliest 1099 due date or February 2nd, 2015 for the 2014 tax year.

When are the 1099 filing deadlines?Please note that there are separate 1099 filing deadlines. The deadline is February 2nd, 2015 to send the form to the recipients or independent contractors. The deadline to send the form on paper to the IRS is March 2nd and if you e-file it, the deadline is March 31st.

Is the earliest due date February 2nd, 2015 for all 1099 forms?The earliest due date is February 2nd for most 1099 Forms. However, if the transaction is to report the following items, the due date is February 17th.

All payments reported on Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions.

All payments reported on Form 1099-S, Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions.

Substitute payments reported in box 8 or gross proceeds paid to an attorney reported in box 14 of Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income.

Do we issue a 1099 form for goods provided as well as services?Please note that the 1099-Misc form is generally issued for payment of services provided. However, if the goods and supplies are part of the services provided by the independent contractors & LLCs, they would be included in the 1099-Misc form. If they are not part of the service provided, the payer should not report payments for equipment, supplies, or other tangible goods, including inventory. This is referenced in the 1099-Misc instructions as well as Internal Revenue Code Section 6041(a).

How do we know that the information from the W-9 Form is correct?The IRS has a taxpayer identification number (TIN) matching program to allow businesses to verify that the information provided by the payee/recipient on the W-9 form is accurate. As a side note, the W-9 form should be completed by the recipient before any payment is made by the payer. The TIN matching program is helpful, but not as much after payment is made and you find an incorrect TIN.
If you find an incorrect TIN, request a corrected W-9 from the payee. This will prevent issues such as receiving a whole series of CP2100 notices from the IRS (i.e. CP2100) and following up with the payee.